rainbowroute Wrote:
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> Thus, we are having this conversation of how
> cheaper, fun charters might be arranged for a
> larger audience. While also acknowledging that
> there will
still be folks for whom the mere
> cost of travel and lodging is beyond their
> financial ability.
OK, organizing photo charters on the cheap end....We'll stick with C&TS since we are here. The good news about C&TS is that there are wide enough spaces on the east end that you can do charters with a very large group--unlike the treed-in east coast, or even the D&S. One could also do the bus chase option on the west end to transport people from spot to spot, but with the engineer school trips, one could honestly get just as good--if not better--results simply by following along in your own car, which is free.
The average price for a ticket right now is about $110-115 for an Antonito to Osier trip. Can you make the numbers add up for a high capacity photo trip to keep the price affordable? Maybe you can shorten down the mileage and time and just run Big Horn, since you really don't have the places to unload a large group much beyond that point anyways. Maybe you just do a half-day trip as opposed to an all-day endurance test. Get a string of freight cars and tack on some passenger cars on the back end. Keep everything lettered C&TS to save on costs. Does the market exist for a 200+ person charter at say $100-150 for about four to five hours? You're going to spend an awful lot of time unloading people at runby spots, but maybe a a few runbys and a few locations is enough in this case.
The question becomes....would it sell? That's a lot of people who need to buy a ticket to make it viable. Food for thought....
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2021 02:40PM by Kevin Gilliam.